The Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, is publishing a book on the conservation of a local ecosystem.

Saving Bull Creek by Bob Kipfer and Loring Bullard is in the final stages of graphic design and is expected to be published this winter. With a foreword by Mike Kromrey, the Executive Director of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, the book chronicles the history of the Bull Creek watershed from the time the Osage inhabited the land, through the initial European exploration of the area by Henry Schoolcraft, through the industrial era, and up to the present day. The book is also, crucially, about the flora and fauna in the watershed, threats to the climate, and what residents of Bull Creek and the surrounding metropolitan areas can do to make sure the ecosystem stays in pristine condition.

Bob Kipfer is a former physician who splits his time between his home in Springfield and his home in Bull Creek. He and his wife, Barb, have worked for years with the Missouri Department of Conservation to restore the wilderness around their remote home. Kipfer wrote the historical portions of the book. He and Barb also have a Master Naturalist blog about the watershed, which you can check out here.

Loring Bullard is a scientist and one of the founders of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks. He has worked for the Ozark Land Trust, the James River Basin Partnership, the Ozarks Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks. Bullard wrote the scientific portions of the book, focusing on what human history has done to the land, water, and animal species.